The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

(Phloeomyini) of

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

and

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

s of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. They belong to the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. ...

and include five

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

: ''

Batomys ''Batomys'' is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. It has six extant described species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produ ...

'' (hairy-tailed rats), ''

Carpomys ''Carpomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae. It contains two extant species, and one extinct species: * '' Carpomys melanurus'' * '' Carpomys phaeurus'' *'' Carpomys dakal'' It was first described by Oldfield Thomas Michael Roger ...

'' (dwarf cloud rats), '' Crateromys'' (bushy-tailed cloud rats), '' Musseromys'' (Luzon tree mice), and '' Phloeomys'' (giant cloud rats). They range in size from as large as to as small as . Cloud rats are threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. Several species are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

Description

Cloud rats are characterized by long furry or hairy tails and short hind limbs with grasping feet. They spend most of their time in the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

s, hence the name "cloud rat" or "cloudrunner". They are believed to be entirely herbivorous, primarily eating leaves, buds, bark, fruits, and seeds. Their ecology and behavior are poorly known. Cloud rats belonging to the genera ''Batomys'', ''Crateromys'', and ''Phloeomys'' are typically large, with the largest species being '' Phloeomys pallidus'' (reaching up to in weight) and '' Crateromys schadenbergi'' (reaching up to in weight). They measure from around in length. Members of the genera ''Carpomys'' and ''Batomys'' are smaller, with a maximum weight of and , respectively. The smallest are members of the recently described genus ''Musseromys'', with a recorded weight of only and body lengths of only .

Conservation

Several species of cloud rats are classified as

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. Cloud rats are primarily threatened with

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and human encroachment due to the extensive

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

of the

. Larger species of cloud rats (''Phloeomys '' and ''Crateromys'' spp.) are also hunted for food, usually by

hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...

tribes in the mountains of the Philippines. In some areas, they are the most commonly hunted species, and hundreds of animals are estimated to be killed annually. Hunting or possession of wildlife is illegal in the Philippines, under Republic Act 9147 (the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Law of 2001), but enforcement still remains problematic. Several zoos keep and breed cloud rats in captivity; including the

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

Prague Zoo Prague Zoological Garden (Czech: ''Zoologická zahrada hl. m. Prahy'') is a zoo in Prague, Czech Republic. It was opened in 1931 with the goal to "advance the study of zoology, protect wildlife, and educate the public" in the district of Troja (Pra ...

, Central Park Zoo,

Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and the largest Metropolis, metropol ...

, Wingham Wildlife Park,

Chester Zoo Chester Zoo is a zoo in Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire, England. Chester Zoo was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family. The zoo is one of the UK's largest zoos at and the zoo has a total land holding of approximately . Chester Zoo ...

, and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

Taxonomy

The cloud rat

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

(the "''Phloeomys'' division", ''

sensu ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' Musser & Carleton, 2005), now treated as the

Phloeomyini (LeCompte et al., 2008), includes the closely related genera ''

'' (hairy-taled rats), ''

'' (dwarf cloud rats), '' Crateromys'' (bushy-tailed cloud rats), '' Musseromys'' (Luzon tree mice), and '' Phloeomys'' (giant cloud rats). They belong to the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Murinae The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(rats and mice). Batomys hamiguitan

Note: Extinct species known only from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s are marked with * Tribe Phloeomyini **''

'' - Hairy-tailed rats ***'' Batomys dentatus'' - Large-toothed hairy-tailed rat ***'' Batomys granti'' - Luzon hairy-tailed rat ***'' Batomys hamiguitan'' - Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat ***'' Batomys russatus'' - Dinagat hairy-tailed rat ***'' Batomys salomonseni'' - Mindanao hairy-tailed rat ***'' Batomys uragon'' ***'' Batomys cagayanensis'' Dwarf Cloud Rat of Mt

**''

'' - Dwarf cloud rats ***'' Carpomys melanurus'' - Dwarf cloud rat, short-footed Luzon tree rat ***'' Carpomys phaeurus'' - White-bellied Luzon tree rat ***'' Carpomys dakal'' **'' Crateromys'' - Bushy-tailed cloud rats ***'' Crateromys australis'' - Dinagat Island cloud rat, rediscovered in 2012 ***'' Crateromys schadenbergi'' - Giant bushy-tailed cloud rat ***'' Crateromys paulus'' - Ilin Island cloud rat, collected in 1981 through a dead specimen ***'' Crateromys heaneyi'' - Panay bushy-tailed cloud rat ***'' Crateromys ballik'' **'' Musseromys'' - Luzon tree mice ***'' Musseromys anacuao'' ***'' Musseromys beneficus'' ***'' Musseromys gulantang'' - Banahaw tree mouse ***'' Musseromys inopinatus'' **'' Phloeomys'' - Giant cloud rats ***'' Phloeomys pallidus'' - Northern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat ***'' Phloeomys cumingi'' - Southern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28700192 Rats of Asia Endemic fauna of the Philippines Rodents of the Philippines Mammal tribes Taxa named by Edward Richard Alston

Description

Conservation

Taxonomy

See also

References